Fire and Ice
by Roxxi Dynamite
Summary: Hopping between dimensions was never easy. And never straight forward. Sometimes she found herself in the wrong one, other times the right one but just a tad out on the timing. Each jump was a new experience, some good, some not. This one, however, may just be the most interesting.
1. Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

London early 21st Century. Right time.  
No Zeppelins in the sky. Right place.

No sign of that glaringly obvious, yet surprisingly inconspicuous blue box.

Yet.  
She had to remind herself of that little word.

But right place and time, that was a start. It wasn't like this technology was exact.  
Her previous jumps could attest to that.  
Nor were things ever that easy anyway.  
Life with him could attest to that.

She didn't really expect to find herself 3 for 3 straight away. She was amazed to even have the right universe this time. Seeing the TARDIS as she landed would have been way too easy, scoring that hat trick was beyond even her luck.

She knew that.

And yet, she couldn't help but hope.

Hope, that little but oh so big emotion. She had thought she had lost that along the way. With the things she had seen, the things she had experienced, she had thought even the concept of it was beyond her capabilities now. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't hope she felt, maybe it was just wishful thinking.

That was more likely, the cynic in her thought.

She shook herself from her thoughts and fully took in her surroundings. It was early evening, the sky just beginning to darken and the sun hidden behind the clouds. It was cold, colder than just a normal evening. There was a touch of frost in the air. Probably late winter. She was in an alleyway. She made her way to the opening and took a good look around. She was standing in what looked like a small car park. The yellow markings on the ground told her it was a loading bay.

Strictly drop off only.

She smiled, that was one way of describing how she got here.

There was a big white building in front of her, and other light coloured buildings surrounded her, looking more grey as the sunlight faded. It seemed to be some sort of business district, looking towards the street just down the driveway she could see not many people pottering about. Must be after work hours, she thought to herself. Of course, there were many different work hours, lights on in the skyscrapers towering above were proof of that. Offices, she guessed. People working away, living their lives oblivious to what was coming. It always seemed to be the way.

A noise shifted her attention to the building in front of her. A door had opened.

A side door, she noted.

Someone had come outside. A man. Sandy-haired, average height, lean. He wore a black suit and a white shirt, and he pulled at his tie as he stepped outside, loosening it and unbuttoned his top button then breathed out a contented sigh. A packet of cigarettes was pulled from the inside pocket of his jacket.

Just another average man having a smoke break from work.

He sparked up a match and lit his cigarette, his hands shielding the tip from the wind. Then suddenly his eyes shot up and almost immediately his gaze settled on her.

She had been standing at the opening to the alleyway she had arrived in, just off to the side against the wall. She was nestled in the shadows, no street lamps nearby to illuminate what the rapidly darkening sky had shrouded.

The hair on the back of her neck bristled.

Could he see her?

It shouldn't be possible really. Even if she wasn't cloaked in darkness, even if she was standing slap bang under a giant spotlight, she shouldn't have been noticeable. That was the whole point behind the perception filter.

Maybe _not _such an average man.

He took a long drag of his cigarette, his eyes narrowing slightly. He walked a few steps forward, towards the end of the path leading to the yellow marked tarmac of the loading bay. His gaze never moving from her direction.

The closer he got the clearer she could see him.

He was good looking, not much older than her. Maybe 35 at the most. He had an air about him, confident, controlled.

Government, possibly.

The way he moved, the way he walked, even the way he stood; He exuded superiority like he was a puppet master, confidant that he could pull the strings and get everyone dancing to his merry tune. And yet the lines in his cheeks told of a man who smiles a lot.

Big smiles. Big false smiles.

She knew that kind of smile all too well.

Politician, she thought.

Then she noticed his eyes. Brown, deep, and impossibly old. Hidden behind the surface, a maelstrom. Fire and ice and hate and pain. She had seen eyes like that only twice before, the first blue then deep brown, both belonging to the same man.

Definitely not just an average man then.

While the Doctor's eyes had also held a warmth of compassion and empathy. The man before her did not show any of that. Instead what she saw were insanity and cold calculation.

A spike of fear shot up her spine.

She had no idea who this man was but at that moment, as their eyes locked across the tarmac, she knew that he was going to do terrible things. Knew he was going to bring about suffering on an unimaginable scale. The itch to do something, to stop him was strong. To take him out now before he could hurt anyone. To prevent the pain that he would inflict.

And she sensed he could feel it too. He was looking at her intensely, a calculated look in his eyes.

He was weighing up options, she knew the look. She and her colleagues wore it often.

Was he sizing her up?

Debating on whether she was a threat to him?

She saw him stomp out his cigarette and, with a look of resolve in his eyes, he made his way towards her.

Thoughts raced through her head. A hundred different scenarios played out in her mind.

He could hurt her.  
He could kill her.  
She could do the same to him.  
Would he though?  
Would she?  
_Could _she?

At this moment she didn't even know.

She had been taught not to interfere.

During her jumps she had landed in many different places. Different universes. Parallels and bubbles and worlds far removed from the two she knew. Worlds where the Doctor didn't exist. Where he had never existed. And she saw what would happen to the human race. What would happen without that daft alien to intervene on behalf of the Earth. And it was never good. It was horrifying and haunting. Her first instinct had always been to help. The first few times she had tried, but it was never enough.

She was never enough.

The outcome was always the same. The invaders, the villains, they always won. The human race, the Earth, decimated, enslaved, torn apart and sold for parts. A few times she had come back injured. More than a few if she was honest. The powers that be, her bosses, had tried to convince her to do nothing. Told her it was useless, pointless. They weren't her realities. There was nothing she could do.

She couldn't save them.

Only the Doctor could.

And she was the only hope of finding him.

If she died on one of these jumps, then everyone was doomed. She needed to observe but not interact. She needed to stand back and watch the suffering and do nothing to help. Every fibre of her being rejected this notion. It was stupid. It was unfathomable how they could ask this of her. But after her 67th jump and a run-in with a Dalek that left her unconscious for 8 days, she began to see their point. Even if her heart didn't agree. If she didn't get back to the Doctor, her reality, all realities would befall a similar fate. Every being in every universe would cease to be and it would be her fault.

So she did as she was asked. It took a while at first, it was not natural to do nothing. But soon she fell into the inaction. It broke her heart of course. It felt like she left a piece of herself behind in each reality. With every jump she felt a little piece of herself die. And maybe that's why she was able to think of killing so easily when she saw this strange man as a threat.

Or maybe that's what she told herself to make herself feel better about how hardened she had become.

He was in front of her now, barely two steps between them. His dark eyes still locked with her own. He was scrutinising her, she could tell. But for what reason, she wasn't sure.

It was he who spoke first, breaking the silence.

"You shouldn't be here."

And somehow she knew he didn't mean right there beside that alleyway.

"Neither should you."

The words coming out before she knew what was happening. So much for observe but don't interact.

He smiled.

Or was that more of a smirk?  
There was a sinister edge to it.

"Touché," he replied with a quirk of his eyebrows.

Her watch beeped, making her tear her eyes from his for the first time since she first noticed him.  
It was time to go.

She looked back up and noticed he was looking at her wrist, an unreadable expression on his face. He met her gaze again, breathing out a sigh as he did so.

She felt the familiar tug, the signal that the dimension cannon was ready and about to bring her back.

There was mirth dancing in his eyes as he smirked at her.

"To be continued, Rose Tyler."

The smirk only grew as he caught her surprised look before he disappeared completely, or rather she did.

She stood on the platform of Torchwood HQ wondering who this impossible and frightening man was and how he knew her name.


	2. Listen

_A/N: This started as a stand-alone with the possibility of making a series out of it. Chapter 2 came to me and then a plot of an entire series. I've got the outline written down, and it seems like it'll be a trilogy of stories, maybe more if I tweak anything along the way. _

_Hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think._

* * *

Chapter 2: Listen

* * *

The room was buzzing, both the buzzing of machinery and the voices of the personnel as they were hard at work. Double, triple checking the codes and scans, making sure everything was perfect for the next jump. Or as perfect as it could be. Their understanding of realities and timelines were advanced by Earth standard, but still, nowhere near enough to be perfect. There was a lot of guesswork involved, a lot of variables, but they knew the risks when they signed up. The fact that she hadn't been vaporised on their first attempt was a relief to everyone, after all, no one had ever attempted what they were doing before. Even he had said it was impossible. But with the alternative, what choice did they really have?

Rose shook herself from her thoughts and looked towards the man in front of her. Malcolm, their lead scientist on this project, was fastening her watch to her wrist. Of course, it wasn't really a watch, well, it was and it wasn't. It told the time of her universe, specifically the time at Torchwood HQ. And it was supposed to tell her local time of wherever she landed. But they hadn't quite managed to get that bit working yet. It was also a scanner that took a reading of each place she landed, readings that would, hopefully, help them in their search for Point Zero. Point Zero being the correct universe, the correct planet, the correct time period and a version of the Doctor that correlated with her. Obviously, it wasn't as simple as that, but that was it in a nutshell.

Final preparations were being made for the next jump and Rose stood beside the platform awaiting her cue. She always felt a sense of anxiety before every jump, she was never sure where or when exactly she would land, but this time she was feeling something else. Something she couldn't quite name. Apprehension? Trepidation? Plain old dread? Maybe all of the above, but with a streak of thrill added to the mix. It was odd. That strange man in London. The one who screamed danger and death. The one with the icy stare. Dread she could understand, she expected it. He had made her blood run cold when their eyes met, she knew he was capable of unbridled mayhem, that he craved violence and death. She wasn't sure how, but she knew all this to be true. And yet, there was something about him that made her feel more alive than she had in so very long. She told herself it was being back in the right universe and the right century, so close to her Doctor that was setting her insides on fire, that the man was merely a coincidence.

She almost believed herself.

She'd been so lost in her own thoughts that she barely noticed her name being called. Mickey approached her and handed her the gold disk.

"Good luck." He smiled.

"Thanks, I'll see you soon."

"Stay safe!" Mickey called out to her as she began to disappear.

* * *

Once again Rose found herself in London. A Zeppelin free sky above and familiar cars and architecture around her. It looked like her time. A check of her watch confirmed it. The local time setting was showing a reading for the first time 11.02 am and a quick check of the scanner told her she was a month on from her last visit to 21st century London.

Rose smiled, despite the daunting task ahead of her, they had managed to navigate back to this place and time. That was a feat in and of itself. She could only hope that the Doctor and the TARDIS would be found soon enough.

She took in her surroundings. Of course she would land in an alleyway again. It always seemed to be the way. Maybe it was deliberate from the Cannon Team, she supposed it might look a bit frightening if she just appeared out of nowhere in say, somewhere like Trafalgar Square. She crept out of the alley and onto the main road. Shops and restaurants and bars and coffee shops filled each side of the street. Glass windows, outside tables, signs, menus and awnings everywhere. Throngs of people in business attire with briefcases, in thick coats with shopping bags, parents holding the hands of their children, all making their way up and down the street, in and out of all the businesses.

It was then that Rose noticed the window decor of the shops. She frowned and pulled out her scanner again.

December 20th 2006.

Oh no, she thought. That explains the Christmas decorations.

This wasn't right. She had thought it was late winter during her last jump, but if that was around a month ago then it would have only been November. Maybe living in the other Universe for so long with its severe climate change exasperated by the Cybermen had thrown her senses off.

This was dangerous.

She was going back on her own timeline. If she ran into another version of herself, well she didn't want to even think about the consequences. Experiencing the Reapers once was enough for her. She tried to think back to where she was at this time.

When the Doctor had sent her back from the Gamestation it had been early November. She and Mickey had pulled open the console of the TARDIS and she had gone back to him. He had died and regenerated, but they didn't land back on Earth til Christmas Eve. So she should be safe from her past self, but she would still need to be cautious. Luckily this street looked a bit too fancy for anyone she knew to be shopping here. So with any luck, she wouldn't run into anyone who knew her.

Rose pulled out her phone as she moved back into the alley and called the most used number in it.

"It's me. We got the timing wrong again. It's December 2006."

"Is it? Ok, we'll pull you back and try again. Aim for further down the timeline. I don't know what happened, we must have locked onto the TARDIS too early."

"No, that's not it. I know for a fact the TARDIS isn't here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Reid, I know because I'm on the TARDIS with The Doctor right now, " she snapped, "or rather, 2006 me is."

"That is strange. The cannon is designed to find the TARDIS. It shouldn't be bringing you anywhere it's not. We will have to find out what went wrong. " He paused.

Rose heard muffled voices and the tapping of computer keys.

"24 minutes until you're ready to jump. You know what to do."

"Yeah, keep out of sight. See you soon."

Rose hung up and slid the phone into her pocket, sighing as she did so. She hadn't meant to snap at Reid, she was just so frustrated. The hope of being so close to The Doctor, to completing this mission, to ending the nightmare. Only to have it all ripped away, again. It was disheartening and downright cruel. But it wasn't Reid, nor the Cannon Team's fault, they didn't do it intentionally. She wasn't angry at them, more so the universe for always having her just within arms reach of everything she wanted, but never actually in touching distance.

Rose was leaning on the wall in the alleyway she had arrived in, biding her time until her jump disk had recharged for her return journey when she felt a prickle at the back of her neck. A tiny warmth that felt both familiar and unnerving. She crept towards the opening onto the street, making sure to remain hidden from the world.

Something was calling to her, something in that busy street.

She scoured up and down the street, looking for anything out of place that could explain this odd sensation. Perhaps the Doctor had been here after all, he did have a time machine, he could have gone back for something. Or it could be a previous Doctor. She hadn't thought of that before.

Her eyes widened as her gaze landed on him.

He was shaking the hands of two men. They had just exited a restaurant across the street and slightly to the right from her. She could only see the right side of his face but she knew it was him. Same suit, same hair and the same smile. He stood with his hands in his pockets as he watched the two men in suits get into a car and drive away. She saw his shoulders stiffen for a moment before his body began to turn. She threw herself back deeper into the alley, hoping he hadn't seen her. She chanced ducking her head out again and couldn't see him. Breathing a sigh of relief Rose went back down the narrow alleyway and pulled out the disk.

19 minutes.

Stuffing the jumper into her pocket she leaned on the wall behind her and tried to relax. She would be back at Torchwood soon and they could get started on fixing whatever was up with the cannon, hopefully, it would be simple enough and her next jump would be even more successful. She just had to wait. 19 minutes, she could do that.

The thought had barely finished before she felt that warm prickle again. Her head snapped to the side and her breathing momentarily stopped.

"We meet again."

Those impossibly old, dark eyes were focused on her. That smirk, both smarmy and sinister, adorned his face. His black suit immaculately pressed and looking very expensive. She straightened up on instinct, turning to stand tall facing the dirty blond-haired man. Never show your back to the enemy. That piece of her training echoed in her mind. And she was sure he was the enemy, even though they had only met twice and barely spoke 5 sentences between them, she was certain he was a threat.

"You don't call, you don't write. You just disappeared, quite literally. A man might think he's being ghosted."

"You're not a man, " she replied not really knowing why she couldn't seem to stop herself around him.

His eyebrows rose at this.

"Of course I am." He grinned looking down at himself. "Last I checked I was all man. But do feel free to check for yourself."

She felt her cheeks heat up. She knew her face was probably reddening, normally she could control this sort of thing but she hadn't expected this suggestive talk from him. Most likely that's why he did it, a way to disarm someone with an unexpected angle. Obviously, it was working. She fought down the unease within her and threw a glare at him.

"Let me rephrase that, you're not human."

He smiled wider then and she had to admit he was very attractive. Especially when he smiled like that. She was sure that he had used that smile and his boyish good looks to charm his victims before he unleashed the monster within. And she was sure there was a monster underneath the dashing grin, she didn't know it till she said it but he was definitely not just an evil human man. Her mind screamed at her that he was not from Earth.

"The offer still stands, feel free to give this body a good old once over. Make sure I don't have any tentacles or I don't know… zips?"

Rose's eyes widened. Images of Downing Street, of Margaret Blaine and government ministers with zips on their foreheads. Of huge green aliens. Slitheen.

Her eyes darted to his forehead and he let out a breathy laugh.

No. The Slitheen had taken the bodies of people bigger than this man. The Doctor had explained it to her at the time. Something to do with compressing themselves to fit into the bodies, they needed bigger victims to wear their skin. This man was only a few inches taller than her and slim, no way was there a Slitheen underneath his skin. No, not Slitheen. That was the family name of the ones she had met, she corrected herself.

"I doubt you're Raxacoricofallapatorian, " she replied, surprised by how smoothly the word came out. A far cry from when she had first tried saying it.

"Didn't Mary Poppins sing about that?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. What game was he playing? Last time he had been so threatening without saying a word. He looked at her like he was debating swatting her like a fly. Now he was joking and making provocative comments. Like they were old friends. He was really getting her off-kilter.

"Who are you?" she practically growled.

"Harold Saxon." He smiled and stretched out his hand. "And you?"

"Who are you really?"

"I told you, my name is Harold Sax-"

"No, it's not."

"You seem awfully sure of that."

"I am. I see you. I see beneath your fake smiles and expensive suits. Beneath the charming exterior and handsome face, I see the darkness inside you. The cold void of nothingness. The burning and the bloodshed. I can feel the lust for destruction and domination and-"

He was on her before she could finish her sentence, slamming her against the cold, hard wall, hands gripping her shoulders and eyes boring into her. He was livid, his breath was coming hard and fast and his face was twisted into a sinister expression.

"You see nothing!" He spat.

"Oh but I do. I can see through your little façade. Every sense I have is screaming at me that you're not who you pretend to be. You even smell wrong."

"And what about sound? What can you hear?"

"Nothing." Rose spat pushing him away from her and failing, he was surprisingly strong for his appearance.

"Listen!" He demanded. "Can you hear it?"

Rose frowned wondering if this bloke was bonkers. He had done a complete 180 in about 5 seconds. His hate-filled eyes now looked at her with a look of almost hope. The silence between them seemed to stretch forever.

Then she noticed it.

Oh.

He was staring intently at her, watching her face go through surprise, confusion, disbelief before settling on fear. He smiled, a manic, gleeful sort of smile that sent shivers down her spine.

"It… you… it's not possible, " she struggled.

"You can hear them too?" he whispered.

"You're a Time Lord."

His smile fell then.

"What?"

She looked up at him and then back down at her hands that were still on his chest from her attempts to push him away. The oh so familiar beats beneath her palms.

"You have two hearts."

"Yes, but the drums?"

She ignored his questions, her mind too occupied by someone who was supposed to be dead. The Doctor had said he was the last of his kind. He said the rest had burnt. He was most certainly not the Doctor, so he had to be another Time Lord. Which was impossible. And yet it explained so much about him and what she was feeling.

"Don't you hear them? The neverending drums?"

He pressed his forehead to hers and her mind exploded. She jerked away with a cry but her head smashed into the wall behind her. She tried to push him off, tried to move away but he was too strong.

"STOP! MAKE THEM STOP!"

He pulled his head away to study her face but kept his grip on her.

"You heard them?" he asked again, desperation in his voice.

"Yes." Her voice never sounded so weak.

"I knew they were real. They said I was mad. But you can hear them, Miss Tyler, and that makes them real." He laughed.

She didn't respond. Her head was aching, and not just from hitting it off the wall. The drums, that incessant pounding. That four-beat pattern repeating over and over, so loud and so hard it reverberated around her body. She only felt it for a few seconds and she wanted to stab herself in the head to make it stop. Even now it was gone she could still feel the echoes of it vibrating in the deafening silence of her mind.

They stood silently for what seemed like far too long. Neither moving away or saying a thing. His fingers on her shoulders had taken on a less deathly grip and his thumbs had begun stroking circular motions on her collarbone. Neither quite realised this as he stared at the wall behind her lost in his own madness and she tried to shake that haunting noise from her mind.

His left hand moved from her shoulder to her throat and her attention was brought back to the Time Lord in front of her. She gulped involuntarily, fear beginning to swell within her. His hands kept moving upward, over her throat, up over her chin, across to her cheek where he cupped her face and moved her head to look up at him.

"I knew I would enjoy meeting you, Rose Tyler. I didn't quite expect it to be this… exhilarating."

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm an old friend of the Doctor's."

She snorted. He grinned.

"I said old friend, that's not a lie."

"Yeah, but you're not a friend any more, are you?"

"You are a clever little ape, aren't you?"

"You're an arrogant prick, aren't you?"

He laughed a proper chuckle.

"It's not arrogance if you're right, sweetheart."

Her watch beeped and they both looked down to her wrist.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked with a mock pout letting his hands fall away from her.

"Yeah, this date is a bit shit. Didn't even get wined and dined, you just went straight to handsy."

"Dinner, I normally keep for third dates."

Rose rolled her eyes as she felt the familiar tug.

"Til next time, Miss Tyler."

* * *

The familiar faces of her team came into view as Rose appeared on the platform at Torchwood HQ.

Reid came up to her straight away.

"I've checked the data, the scans and the codes. And rechecked them. And had several people go over them. There isn't a fault in the coding. The cannon is still locking onto the TARDIS. Are you sure there's no way it could be there?"

"Could it lock on to any TARDIS or just The Doctor's?"

"I thought you said his was the only one left."

"I know, but is it possible?"

"I suppose it could be. We only have the data from yours but it could be possible. We don't really know much about the TARDIS or TARDISes at all."

"Right."

"What happened?" Mickey chimed in from behind her.

"Nothing."

"Rose…"

"I need a shower and a cuppa."

And with that Rose swanned out of the room, leaving her ex-boyfriend turned best friend to stare after her.


	3. Run!

Chapter 3: Run

* * *

Rose knew she should have told Torchwood about the Time Lord. That they may have been able to figure out why it was locking onto his TARDIS rather than the Doctor's. She knew she should have even confided in Mickey or Pete at least. But she worried that they would call a stop to the whole mission. Deem it too risky to continue. But the darkness was coming. Stars were going out all across the dimensions. The multiverse was in danger and if they stopped now then it would be the end. They couldn't stop. They could replace her. Her mum would convince Pete to send someone else. But no-one knew the Doctor or the TARDIS in this universe as well as Rose did. Noone had a better chance of reaching the Doctor and convincing him to help them than her. So she needed to keep this secret for now. At least until she reached her destination. Once she found the right time and the right Doctor, then she would tell them. The Doctor would want to know there was another Time Lord out there, that he wasn't alone.

She was getting ready for another jump. It had been three days since the last one. The team had been working off the scans from the last time she landed. She was too early. She needed the Doctor when he was travelling with Donna Noble. She knew she had been with him until the summer, until the Battle of Canary Wharf. After that, she wasn't sure. She didn't know when he met Donna, just that it must have been after she was trapped as she had never known Donna.

She instructed the team to try for 2008, the year after she was trapped. With any luck, Donna would be the next passenger he took on the TARDIS.

"Cannon ready to launch." A computerised voice sounded.

It made Rose laugh inwardly. She doubted her friend Siobhan from back on the estate had meant this when she had called her a rocket so long ago.

Rose made her way to the platform, jump disk in hand. She said her goodbyes and they wished her luck, as always. She pressed the button.

* * *

Bright blue light flashed and she found herself being thrown. She ran into a wall but was able to get her hands up to brace herself.

That was odd, she thought.

That had never happened before. Usually she just sort of appeared.

She steadied herself and tried to get her bearings. Another thing that was different. Her head was spinning. Usually, there was the odd bit of dizziness from the cannon, but it never lasted more than a few seconds. This feeling was more intense. She felt disoriented, like her senses we're out of whack. It took her several minutes for the majority of the sensation to pass, leaving just a dull remnant behind.

Rose looked at her watch, hoping it would shed some light on the situation. The date part was flashing but it was not telling her anything, just a jumble of numbers, obviously, it was on the fritz. The scanner was the same. She wasn't sure if it was a malfunction or if she was in the wrong universe and some technology was interfering. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened to her.

Realising the scanner was useless Rose decided to go old school. She would just have to rely on her eyes and ears to get a sense of where she had landed.

Looking around she could see brick walls. It looked like she was in another alley, but she couldn't tell if there were buildings around her as the only thing she could see was red-bricked walls, it was like a maze of brickwork. She followed the wall she had run into, hoping it would lead to an opening somewhere.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of walking, she was rewarded at the sight of light streaming in from an opening just up ahead. As she was about to move through the opening she caught sight of something in her peripheral vision and turned to the left to see what it was.

She froze.

Standing tucked into the corner under an alcove of brick was the blue box she had been looking for for so long.

Without giving it conscious thought Rose had made her way towards the ship and was running her hands over the wooden exterior. She couldn't quite believe her eyes were seeing what she thought they were and as her hands touched the surface she began to doubt that sense too.

After so long, after so many jumps, so many different dimensions, could it really be that she had found what she had been searching for? Had she succeeded in her locating mission?

She raised her hand to the chain that sat around her neck and pulled it free. The Yale key on the end, glistening in the street light. It had been a treasured possession for years even back when he had worn leather and spoke with a Northern accent. After she became trapped it was a precious memory, of holding hands and pinstripes and really great hair and the man she had loved and lost. When the darkness came and the star started going out, when she had begun her dimension jumping it had become a symbol of hope. Hope that they could stop the darkness. Hope, after a harrowing jump, that she wouldn't go through that again. That she would find him and avert the crisis.

As she slipped the key in the lock and felt the tumblers move within, heard the click as the door opened, her mind was swirling with emotions. Happiness, apprehension, relief and a feeling of belonging. She had never felt more at home than she did during her time on the TARDIS, walking through that door she began to feel like she was finally home.

The ship looked much the same as it did the last time Rose had been onboard. Coral struts and soft lighting and the ever calming glow of the time rotor in the centre of the control room. Or at least it has always been calming. For some reason, Rose was getting a sense of dread from the sentient ship. She ran her hand up a strut as she made her way to the console, silently wondering what had gotten into the old girl. She had just reached the edge of the console when she heard a soft click behind her. A bright smile made its way to her face and she tried to push down all the emotions that were flooding her insides. All she had to do was turn around and she would be face to face with the love of her life. The man she thought she would never see again. The man who would save them all. She took a deep breath and turned to face the door, the smile dying on her face as soon as her eyes landed on the figure who had just entered the time ship.

"We really do have to stop meeting like this," he purred.

"You," she whispered, still unmoving.

He smirked. "Me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Not even a 'Hello'? Where are your manners, Miss Tyler?"

"How did you get in here?"

"Same way as you, through the door."

Her head was swimming with questions. His presence here wasn't right. She had thought he had his own TARDIS, that the cannon was locking on to his by mistake. But this was most definitely the Doctor's TARDIS. He shouldn't have been able to get through the door without a key. Unless he had one. But why would he? Was he a friend of the Doctor? He didn't seem like the type of person he would be friends with, but he was a Time Lord, maybe it didn't matter that he was a bit sinister, as long as the Doctor wasn't the last of his kind. But if that was true then where was the Doctor? She hadn't seen him, she didn't think he was on board. And she didn't like the dark glint in this other Time Lord's eyes. He was looking at her like she was prey. The way he inched up the ramp, confidently but oh so slowly, eyes never leaving her. Like a predator. And she was distracting herself with all these thoughts as he swooped in for the kill.

"Where is the Doctor?"

He stopped and smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. He had wanted her to ask, it was almost gleeful.

"He's gone."

Her heart stopped. He couldn't be.

"Well, as good as," he continued, "he's trapped at the end of the universe. 100 trillion years in the future without a TARDIS or any way to escape the end of everything."

"Because of you?" she asked.

"Yes!" His eyes wide and full of glee.

"You're insane."

"And you're trespassing on my TARDIS."

"She's not yours."

"He's gone, I'm here. Last Time Lord, last TARDIS. Guess that makes it mine now."

He was almost to the console now. Rose took a few small steps backwards, manoeuvring herself towards the opposite side of the console, putting the central column between herself and the madman.

"It seems I've had a wasted trip then. So I think I'll just be on my way," Rose spoke, projecting false confidence into her voice.

He laughed and the sound made her stomach sink.

"Oh, I don't think so. After all, it would be rude to just go after I've put so much work into getting you here."

"What?" She asked, confused by what he might mean.

Was he referring to right here and now in the TARDIS. Or did he have something to do with the stars going out? Was he responsible for her dimension jumping? Was everything she had been through, all that she had endured due to the machinations of this insane alien? Was she the puppet with him pulling her strings?

A deep fear embedded itself in her heart. She could feel her feeble grip on her emotions slipping.

"And what a pretty puppet you'd make." His voice broke her thoughts. "Not that I'm not flattered, but no I'm not responsible for your disappearing stars problem. Just getting you right here, right now."

She gave him a look of shock mixed with anger. He was reading her thoughts. Along with everything else she was feeling now she felt violated too.

"You're projecting," he chastised her with a false pout, "even with your basic shields I can't help but overhear. It's like you're screaming from a room and I'm walking past the door."

Rose threw up every mental barrier she could and tried to regain control of her emotions. She didn't like that he was even in the same room as her, she didn't want him in her head either.

"I'm not in your head, you silly ape. I can only hear what you're shouting at me."

Rose relaxed a little. She would just need to keep herself calm and he wouldn't hear her thoughts.

"If I wanted in your head I would need to be touching you, like when you heard the drums. Time Lords are touch telepaths."

Somehow that didn't make her feel any better.

"Anyway, we are getting off track here. Shame on you, Miss Tyler for distracting me," he scolded, playing with the buttons on the console.

"Then why don't you cut straight to the chase? What is it you want?"

"Why do you assume I want anything? Maybe I find your company enlightening."

He laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't even say that with a straight face. You're right, I do want something. The same thing I've always wanted. And I'm working on a way to get that, but I can't have any obstacles getting in the way. And you, my dear, are just that," he paused meeting her eyes, "I don't need one of his little pets screwing everything up. It's too early. So you'll have to be dealt with."

"Screwing what up? What is it you're doing? And what do you mean it's too early?"

"Is this the part where I reveal my evil plan and you thwart me? Excuse me if I decline to do that right now. I have more pressing business to attend to."

Rose's watch beeped cutting the standoff the two were having. She pulled her jumper from her pocket, eyes trained on him as he glanced down at her wrist with a hint of amusement in his smile. She pressed the button and… nothing. Her eyes widened. She pressed it again. And again. It wasn't working.

Dark laughter rumbled breaking the silence.

"Oh you didn't really think that would work in here, did you? Didn't the Doctor ever tell you nothing can get in or out of the TARDIS?"

Rose was frozen to her spot. The dimension cannon wasn't working. It couldn't. She was trapped. He had trapped her. This was the reason he wanted her in the TARDIS. He had herded her in here to trap her. She couldn't escape but she wouldn't surrender to him so easily. She needed to think, needed to get away from him.

He closed the distance between them as she had been lost in thought, now she was only an arm's length away from him.

"And now, sweet Rose, I get to say something I've wanted to say since I first laid eyes on you..."

She brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Run!"


	4. Whims of a Madman

Chapter 4: Whims of a Madman

_Previously…_

_"And now, sweet Rose, I get to say something I've wanted to say since I first laid eyes on you..."_

_She brought her eyes up to meet his. _

_"Run!"_

* * *

Rose turned and took off down the corridor behind her that led to the interior of the ship. She didn't know if he was following her, she didn't dare look behind her. She couldn't hear him but the sound of her own feet slapping the ground was quite loud, though she had a feeling he wouldn't be running to catch her. He would be taking his time, he knew as well as she did that she was trapped. She was a rat in a maze, sooner or later he would catch her, but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy for him.

The TARDIS, for her part, had been helping her as much as she could. New corridors were appearing, new twists and turns, taking her deeper into the time ship. She didn't know if the TARDIS was leading her anywhere in particular, but Rose noted that no rooms had appeared, the walls were blank, not a single door did she see. Wherever the old girl was leading her, she hoped she would get there soon.

* * *

Rose had been running for what seemed like hours. She hadn't heard a peep from the Time Lord and she began to wonder if he had instructed her to run as some sort of amusement, with no intention of chasing her. But she knew somehow that wasn't the case. He was a predator. He loved the chase. He liked to play games and this was just another to him, messing with her mind. He would probably let her run herself ragged then swoop in for the kill.

A dead-end appeared up ahead. The hallway just stopped. She pleaded with the TARDIS in her mind, implored her to assist her in finding somewhere to hide. A click sounded. Rose looked towards the sound and noticed a small opening on the wall to her left. It was about fist-sized with a little door, like a tiny locker, nowhere near big enough for her to hide in. She felt the time ship hum, not a soft comforting hum like she usually did, this one felt rushed. She wanted Rose to hurry up, but the blonde girl couldn't think of what she wanted her to do. As if on cue her watch beeped again.

The dimension cannon.

She couldn't let the Time Lord get his hands on it. He was insane, and even if she couldn't stop him from enacting his dastardly plans on this world she could at least stop him from doing the same to others. She unclipped the watch from her wrist and placed it in the locker before she felt a sensation in her mind, it almost felt apologetic. It took her a moment to realise what it meant. She didn't need to turn around to know he was behind her.

She placed her hands in her jacket pockets and turned slightly to face him.

"I must say I'm disappointed in you," she began licking her dry lips, "the Doctor always went on about your superior Time Lord biology. Thought you'd have been able to catch me no bother. But you had the TARDIS block the hallway instead."

She angled her body in front of the locker.

"That's cheating," she continued with a wry smile.

One of her hands wrapped around the jump disk in her pocket. She had to get it in the locker.

He stood a few feet away with his hands in his trouser pockets watching her with an amused look.

"I outsmarted you. That's not cheating. That's using my superior brain to my advantage. It's not my fault your species are barely out of the primordial soup."

"And yet you're here on earth, living among this lesser species and plotting against them. Why are we such a threat to you?"

"You're not a threat," he sneered.

"Why even bother with earth if we are so far beneath you?"

"Because I can. Because I want to. Because you humans make it so easy."

"There must be something more. There's a whole big galaxy out there, I'd say there are plenty of species even less evolved than humans. This is personal. Either we are a threat to you or-"

"Your species are nothing!" He cut in loudly.

"Or there's another reason," she carried on as if he hadn't even spoken.

He was getting worked up. She could see it. Her goading was paying off. This madman had such a terrible grip on his own rage, she was sure she could poke him into losing control. She just needed him to slip up for one moment. Just one moment and she could make her move. No matter what she joked, he was a Time Lord and his body was superior to hers. He was fast and his brain processed faster too. If she tried to make a move now he would see it before she even got the disk out of her pocket, and no doubt he would have his hands on it a second after. She needed him distracted. Even if she was sure provoking his anger would not end well for her in the long run.

"Let me guess. You met a girl, a human girl. Fell in love, she found out you were bonkers and rejected you. Now you hate our whole species as payback."

"Love? How very human of you. Time Lord's are above such petty things." He looked disgusted at her suggestion.

"Is that why you hate us? Because she made you feel such a human emotion?"

His jaw twitched as he struggled to keep back his fury. She was so close, she just needed something to tip him over the edge.

"Or did she leave you for someone else? Maybe the Doctor?"

That had done something. The Doctor was a sore spot it seemed.

"That's it, isn't it?" she laughed, "the Doctor. He hurt you and you're taking it out on us in revenge, not because we did anything but because he likes this planet."

He let out a laugh, dark and unhinged, teasing the madness beneath the surface.

"You're using human logic to complicate things," he began, "it's much more simple than that. I am the Master! I want domination. I want the universe to be subservient to me. The fact that it's the earth I'm starting with and that he is so fond of you all is just an added bonus."

She didn't believe him. Her intuition told her this most certainly was personal and that it had everything to do with the Doctor.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Weren't you listening?" he spat, "I am the Master!"

"That's your name?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And people actually call you that?"

"Yes!" He was beginning to get annoyed.

"Wow, mate, you really do have issues."

The Master raised his head slightly and rolled his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh.

That was all the distraction she needed. Rose yanked the jump disk out of her pocket and shoved it in the little locker, slamming it closed.

She barely had the door closed when he grabbed her by the arm roughly, pulling her back a little to see what she was hiding.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing," she replied nonchalantly.

"You did something. Tell me now. What was it?"

"No idea what you're talking about."

"You and this rust bucket of a ship may think you're being smart working together but I'll find out eventually. And it won't end well for either of you."

His eyes bore into hers as he spoke and she knew that he meant it. And she knew that she couldn't even imagine the horrible things he could do.

"Your device," he spoke finally breaking eye contact.

He raised her arm up and taking hold of her arm, he raised her sleeve up. He looked at her empty wrist and smiled.

"That's what she helped you hide. Your universe hopping device."

"And you'll never get your hands on it now," Rose snapped angrily.

"Oh Rose Tyler," he smiled, "why would I want to travel to another world when this one has everything I want?"

Rose felt a shiver go down her spine at his words.

"And now you've turned up, the one he burned up a sun for, the one who burned herself for him. This is just too perfect."

He knew so much, not only her name but things that nobody except her and the Doctor knew. He really was on another level. All the things she had seen, all the things she had faced and nothing quite scared her like this ordinary-looking man with the most extraordinary eyes, standing in the hallway of a ship he shouldn't be on. And the Doctor was nowhere to be found.

"Come along now, let's get you settled somewhere I don't have to worry about you wandering off. I hear you're rather fond of doing that."

He shifted his grip on her arm to drag her down the hallway.

* * *

The lights were flashing and she could swear the TARDIS was huffing. She had seen it happen several times during her tenure here. With a last flick of the lights and what felt like resignation from the old girl, a door appeared on the wall.

"Here we are," he spoke opening the door, "oh, she must really like you. I specifically asked for a cell. She's being obstinate."

Rose looked around the room. It didn't look anything like a cell. The walls were a pale lilac colour, a double bed stood against one wall, a dresser and a door were against another.

"You even get an ensuite. She didn't do that for me," he mused, "oh well it will do. I haven't got time to play her games. Busy man."

"And what exactly are you busy with? You gave me a human name last time I asked. I'm guessing infiltrating the government is part of your plan."

"Harold Saxon, yes. John Smith is so dull," he grinned, "and you're absolutely right about the government part. Maybe you're not just a stupid ape after all."

"So why are you infiltrating the government?"

"I believe the earth saying is 'mind your beeswax'."

"Maybe I can help. I was born and raised in London. I'm sure there are human things that you might need to know. If you told me what you're up to…" she trailed off.

"Oh, how kind of you to offer, allow me to reveal all of my Machiavellian schemes to you right now on the off chance you've had a personality transplant and you're not a do-gooder like him ."

"Alright, keep your hair on. I was only asking."

"I know what you were doing and you are going to make me take back my earlier comment about your intelligence if you think I'll fall for it."

"Fair enough, can't blame a girl for trying."

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't. But I really do have to go now. So please, make yourself at home and be a good little pet. No peeing on the carpet."

And with that, he walked out and closed the door. Of course, she tried to open it, not surprised when she found it locked.

Rose sat on the bed and thought about her current predicament. Here she was back on the TARDIS after all these years and not in the way she had imagined. She was locked in a cell because comforts aside it still was her jail, the dimension cannon was hidden so she was trapped on this earth, the Doctor was trapped at the end of the universe if the lunatic was to be believed. She pulled out her phone and saw it had no signal. So not only was she imprisoned but he had the TARDIS block any communications too.

She really was in a pickle. But she was here now and there was nothing she could do about that. He said he was a busy man and she hoped it was true because she would need as much time alone as possible to go over everything that had transpired and try to think of a way out of it all. She, and the whole planet, were at the whim of a madman and she was not going to lie down without a fight.


End file.
